A judge is questioning whether the state's same-sex marriage ban bars him from ending Thomas and Nancy Beatie's union -- or even recognizing its validity. Thomas Beatie was born a woman in Hawaii and underwent a sex change but retained female reproductive organs and gave birth to three children.

Thomas and Nancy Beatie are eager to end their nine-year marriage, but their divorce plans stalled when Maricopa County Family Court Judge Douglas Gerlach said in late June that he was unable to find any legal authority defining a man as someone who can give birth.

Thomas Beatie, known as "The Pregnant Man," has appeared on television shows and magazine covers. He declined an interview request through one of his attorneys.